March 12 2013

​My apologies for you receiving this on Tuesday; there was a power outage yesterday that prevented us from sending this message.

As part of our effort to streamline communications and cut down on the number of e-mails you receive, this Monday E-Mail on Tuesday combines several items into one communication.

• TELL Kentucky Survey off to a good start; encourage teachers and principals to participate• Need to Submit Intent to Adopt Form on Teacher/Leader Evaluation by March 29• Superintendents’ and Principals’ Participation Requested by ACT on Survey Focused on Use of Data to Improve School Systems• Draft IDEA Application for SH 2013-14 open for public comment• Accessing professional learning opportunities/resources in PD 360• Kentucky Teacher – Flipped Classrooms, Student Voice Survey, Insights for Prospective Teachers

If you have questions about the specific items, please see the contact information for each item.

Also, remember to review the items from the Outside Agencies section.

Main Content

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KDE Items

TELL Kentucky Survey off to a good start; encourage teachers and principals to participate

Please encourage all teachers, principals and other school-based certified educators to take part in the 2013 TELL Kentucky Survey. As of today at 1:30 p.m., we had a 38 percent participation rate with 19,263 educators participating. We’re shooting for a 90 percent participation rate by the time the survey ends on March 29.

To encourage participation, each week we will be drawing for two $1,000 cash prizes, one for a school with at least a 50 percent participation rate, and another one a school with a 100 percent participation rate at which the prize will go to an educator. The first drawing will be Wednesday March 13. Thanks to our partners who have donated private funds for the drawing: the Kentucky Education Association, Kentucky Association of School Administrators, Kentucky Association of School Superintendents and the Kentucky School Boards Association.

All school-based certified educators are asked to participate in the anonymous survey at www.tellkentucky.org. It takes about 30 minutes to complete. Districts will receive their results and schools with at least 50 percent of qualified educators responding will receive aggregate school results to use for improvement planning.

Need to Submit Intent to Adopt Form on Teacher/Leader Evaluation by March 29

To ensure districts are prepared to submit their final teacher and leader evaluation plans by the December 2013 deadline, you are asked to complete the District Declaration of Intent to Adopt form found on the web collector at the link listed below. The form asks that districts select their intent to adopt the state-developed professional growth and effectiveness system or a locally-developed system that meets the ESEA waiver requirements. This form shall be submitted to the KDE, after consultation and approval from the district’s local evaluation committee, no later than March 29, 2013.

Superintendents’ and Principals’ Participation Requested by ACT on Survey Focused on Use of Data to Improve School SystemsDear Kentucky superintendents and principals,

To best understand how using data improves the entire school system ACT has asked you to provide your opinion on how you use data. With your valuable input, the results stand to be that much more accurate, and in turn, you and your fellow educators will be able to use those results to identify the best ways to make use of the accumulating amounts of data available to you. If you have already responded to our questionnaire on the use of student performance data: “Thank you!”

There is a survey for superintendents and one for principals. If you have not yet completed the questionnaire, superintendents are asked to click on the link below labeled “superintendents” and principals are asked to click on the one labeled “principals. It will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. All responses are confidential; no individual, school or district will be identified.

If you have questions on the survey, contact Raeal Moore, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate at 512-470-5529 or via e-mail at raeal.moore@act.org.

Thank you again for your participation in this important effort.

Draft IDEA Application for SY 2013-14 open for public comment

Each year the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is required to submit an application to the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) to receive federal funds under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

A draft of Kentucky's SY 2013-14 application for federal funds under Part B of the IDEA is now posted on the KDE website at http://education.ky.gov/specialed/excep/Pages/Kentucky-IDEA-State-Application.aspx. This application is marked “draft” pending notification of available funding. Upon receipt of the 2013-14 IDEA allocation the application will be finalized and a budget component posted. A copy of Kentucky's IDEA budget from a previous year is also posted as an example of how these funds are typically allocated.

Video support of the Kentucky Framework for Teaching based on the Danielson Framework for Teaching is available to all educators in Kentucky through CIITS and PD 360 resources. Teachers and leaders can access multiple videos aligned to each component of the framework. Support for topics such as differentiated instruction, higher-order questioning, classroom climate, exceptional learners and instructional leadership is available.

To view these resources, access PD 360 from CIITS and click on “Focus”. On the applications bar, click “State/Province” on the gray bar below the applications, and topics are listed under the heading “Kentucky.”

Additionally, several recorded webinars on how to best utilize all the applications located in PD360 are available for Kentucky leaders. These recordings can be found on the “PD/Videos” application link, just below the videos library.

Kentucky Teacher, the Kentucky Department of Education’s award-winning online publication, is the place to go to stay abreast of what is happening in Kentucky’s public schools. Kentucky Teacher includes education news, feature articles that highlight successful classroom practice, helpful resources and more.

• It’s not about being the sage on the stage anymore. Check out how some teachers are embracing the flipped classroom concept and finding it gives them more time for mentoring and hands-on learning through labs and other activities.

• One of the multiple measures in the Professional Growth and Effectiveness System is student voice – asking students about their classroom experience. While that may make some teachers anxious, research has proven student voice to be one of the best predictors of achievement gains. Read what teachers piloting the system have to say about it – and how it has led them to change their practice.

• Kentucky Teacher of the Year Kristal Doolin shares some insights with students interested in entering the teaching profession in her monthly column.

Make sure you don’t miss anything in Kentucky Teacher by signing up to receive e-mail updates whenever new stories or features are added. Rest assured, we won’t share your e-mail address.

We want to hear from you too, so send your comments, feedback or story suggestions to us at kyteacher@education.ky.gov or post your comments online.

PLEASE NOTE: Inclusion of items in this section does not constitute endorsement by the Kentucky Department of Education or the Commissioner of Education.

Next Education Matters explores environmental education

Learn how environmental education helps Kentucky students master science and other academic content through engaging hands-on learning experiences that demonstrate how their choices and actions affect the world around them.

The program, hosted by Bill Goodman, airs Monday, March 18 at 9 p.m. ET on KET. Following the broadcast, the program can be viewed online at ket.org/educationmatters.

This Education Matters includes a visit to Blackacre Nature Reserve in Louisville to see a group of inner-city students participating in field study activities and to West Carter Middle School in Olive Hill, where students have built a zero-energy greenhouse for growing lettuce and other vegetables.

Scheduled panelists include: • Elizabeth Schmitz, executive director of the Kentucky Environmental Education Council• Sean Elkins, science consultant at the Kentucky Department of Education• Tresine Logsdon, energy and sustainability curriculum coordinator for Fayette County Public Schools• Dr. Melinda Wilder, professor of curriculum and instruction and director of the Division of Natural Areas at Eastern Kentucky University

Virtual Library Survey Reminder

Kentucky Virtual Library (KYVL) staff, the KYVL Alliance advisory group and the KYVL Leadership Team have been working since July 2010 to implement the goals and objectives outlined in the first KYVL strategic plan.

The Kentucky Virtual Library (KYVL) has announced a new search portal and a contest to “Name the Search.” The new service simplifies research by making KYVL’s high-quality resources (journals, magazines, encyclopedias, databases, etc.) easily accessible via a single search portal.

Students, teachers, parents, administrators, staff, librarians, employees – everyone in Kentucky is eligible to win an iPad 2 and other prizes once they submit an entry!!

Doodle 4 Google Deadline

The March 22 deadline is quickly approaching for entering the annual art and scholarship competition called Doodle 4 Google. Now in its sixth year, the Doodle 4 Google Program is an annual competition open to students K-12 across the U.S. Students are asked to create their own Google doodle around this year’s theme “My Best Day Ever...” The winning artist’s piece will be displayed on the Google homepage for millions to see, and the winner will receive a $30,000 college scholarship and a $50,000 technology grant for his or her school.

Entries are judged based on five different grade group levels. There will be a winner from each state for each grade group and of those five, one will be selected as the Doodle 4 Google state representative. He or she will then be eligible for the grand prize and travel to New York City on May 22 for the final awards ceremony alongside the other 49 state winners.

Entry forms can be downloaded from Google’s Doodle 4 Google site and completed doodles can be submitted by mail or online. Full classrooms and schools are encouraged to participate and an educator’s guide is also available. For details, including full contest rules and entry forms go to google.com/doodle4google.